The rock band Hell & Hollar was the winner of Making Music’s most recent Community Video people’s choice competition. Their video for the song “Showdown” received three times as many votes as the runner-up. Hell & Hollar is a rock band from South Florida featuring Blake Burns on guitar and vocals, Nate Largent on drums, Johnny […]

Alternative tunings are a fantastic way to reinvigorate your guitar playing, songwriting, and creativity. The instantly altered sound naturally gives your mind different creative ideas, and makes you play a different way as a result. And of course, many great songs are written in different tunings, meaning sooner or later you’ll encounter material you need […]

Casio has added two new models to its Celviano Grand Hybrid digital piano line – the GP-310 and GP-510. The new models boast several enhanced features, including a more powerful speaker system, improved harpsichord Tone, and an improved Concert Play mode. The GP-310 and GP-510 digital pianos were revealed in the company’s booth during The […]

Although Rovner Products’ production department had been idle since the end of March due to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s COVID-19 state mandate closing all non-essential businesses, in late April some of the company’s manufacturing equipment was redeployed. “In March, stories of desperate medical workers were all over the news, and we were horrified. We realized […]

Head voice, falsetto, and whistle are the three highest-pitched registers of the voice. This article will help you understand what they are, the differences between them, and how to exercise your voice within your uppermost registers. What is head voice? Head voice is the primary register you use to sing high pitches. To raise […]

Bamboo is the most sustainable choice for musical instruments. Highly renewable, Bamboo regenerates quickly without being replanted—sometimes growing up to three feet per day. The straight grain of this “grass” is actually stronger than most hardwoods. Kala’s Bamboo U•BASS is beautifully natural-looking with clean lines and bamboo from top to bottom—from the headstock to the […]

Chuck Schiele takes you through the beginning steps on how to record an acoustic guitar in stereo. Part one is a general overview for beginners on the basic thinking and process of recording, what a signal chain is, and a thing or two about microphones and mic’ing technique.

The microphone cable remains one of the most popular cable types used in audio and video production. This is true for schools and churches as well as for recording studios and live performance production. While wireless microphones have eliminated the need for some mic cables, the growth in the use….

Dave Sanborn, the veteran saxophonist, and six-time Grammy Award winner, has announced he will soon present the first episode of his new music show, Sanborn Sessions. The new series is hosted by Sanborn and features a diverse roster of accomplished artists from a variety of genres and generations. In its initial season, Sanborn welcomes Kandace Springs, […]

Korn: Inspiring Stories About Famous Musicians and Bands Who Started to Perform in College

With so many ways to get into the game, there is no better time than now to get into the music business. If you are in college and don’t really see yourself working for a salary one day, then the earlier you start, the better.

You don’t need a crazy amount of equipment either. All you need is your band members, their instruments, a laptop and a couple of microphones. The software that is available today can produce near studio quality sound.

Count yourself lucky, because some of today’s biggest bands started in a garage somewhere with very little equipment and bad quality recording equipment.

They spelled ‘corn’ wrong

One of the world’s biggest Nu-metal bands, Korn, started out when they were just a couple of kids in high school. However, the band that we know today was formerly known as L.A.P.D. Lead guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch and lead singer, Jonathan Davis were not part of the outfit back then. They only joined the band after L.A.P.D moved to Bakersfield, California.

When choosing the band’s name, someone suggested the name Corn, but it was rejected because it was too ordinary. They decided to rather spell the band’s name with a K and a backward-facing R to make it look more authentic.

Davis later explained that they chose to name the band Korn because it was such a dumb name. However, he knew that they would become an international success. Given their alternative nature, the name Korn would become synonymous with Nu-metal. Something silly, becoming something that stands out from the rest.

The hard yards

In 1993, the hard work started and they recorded a demo tape called Neidermayer’s Mind. This tape was distributed for free to record companies and anyone who wanted to hear their music. Their album was met with a lot of criticism from both the public and other critics.

They didn’t do any touring and only wanted to get their sound out there, so they performed for free with Biohazard and House of Pain. Here, they pioneered their nu-metal sound and started to build a following.

Making a name for themselves

In 1994, they released their first self-titled studio album through Immortal Records. This album was well received by critics and the public alike and it was said that it started a new wave of metal.

After the successful release of their album, they started touring with Biohazard and House of Pain and continued their journey to stardom.

However, this tour was marred with a broken tour bus and a poor reception of their album. This, however, didn’t stop them as they were chosen, alongside Deftones, as the direct support for Ozzy Osbourne in 1995. It was during this time that their first album went gold.

Not everyone’s a fan

From there, they grew in popularity and also infamy. There were many naysayers that labeled their music as vulgar, indecent and obscene. However, this only fanned the flames and a new generation of metalheads became devout followers of the band.

Life is Peachy and Follow the Leader were their second and third studio albums which were both received with great acclaim. The band only moved from strong to stronger, reaching even more mainstream audiences with their music videos on MTV.

Being famous can take its toll

However, the success of the band was also one of the reasons why they lost lead guitarist, Welch, in 2005. Welch confessed that he was a drug addict and that his life was going in a downward spiral. He was convinced that he was going to die if something or someone didn’t save him.

He converted to Christianity and broke free from his drug abuse. During his time away from the band, he wrote two biographies, released a solo album and also started a new band, called Love and Death. In 2012, Welch reunited with the band and is still with them today.

The moral of the story

Twelve full-length albums later, Korn has cemented their names in the annals of Rock History, and it doesn’t seem like they are ready to give up their music any time soon. They are currently in the process of recording their 13th album, entitled The Nothing. It is scheduled for release in the fall of 2019 and promises to be amazing.

Korn is the perfect example of a band that started out small and did the hard yards before achieving success. They also showed us how to bounce back from the pressures of stardom. Today, they are much more mature and still one of the biggest rock bands to tour the planet.

Be sure to stop back next month for the fourth part in this five-part series: Queen: Inspiring Stories About Famous Musicians and Bands Who Started to Perform in College